Este Haim has traded the bass for a comic-book villain’s bag of tricks in her first voice-acting role.

The HAIM musician voices Hallow’s Eve in Marvel’s Spidey and the Avengers: Halloween Team Up, an animated special that premiered in late September on Disney Jr. and Disney+. The part fulfills an ambition Haim first put into writing more than a decade ago.

“To be honest, I wrote in my diary over 10 years ago, ‘How fun would it be to be a Marvel villain?’” she told Billboard. “So I voiced it to the universe, and then here we are now.”

The project has already made an impression within Haim’s own circle. She said she received more calls about the special than she did when HAIM released its first record, with friends who have children asking why she had not told them about it sooner.

“I’m gonna be such a popular auntie at Christmastime,” she joked.

Stevie Nicks and Disney villains shaped the performance

To find Hallow’s Eve’s sound, Haim turned to both music and animation. She listened to Stevie Nicks on her way to the studio and played “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” Ursula’s song from The Little Mermaid.

Jafar from Aladdin and Scar from The Lion King were also among her reference points. Haim said she drew inspiration from singing Disney villains and “the witchiest of witchy ladies,” Stevie Nicks.

Her approach was apparently so effective that the production team occasionally had to pull her back. While recording “Hallows Eve Theme,” a duet performed by Haim and Patrick Stump in character, producers repeatedly told her that she sounded too sinister for the show’s young audience.

“Este, you sound too evil,” she recalled being told. “We’re not trying to scare kids.”

Stump, the Fall Out Boy frontman who composes the music for Marvel’s Spidey series, voices Hallow’s Eve’s sidekick, Jack O’Lantern. Haim, a longtime Fall Out Boy fan, admitted that meeting him was part of her playful “evil” plan for accepting the role.

The pair did not meet face to face, but connected over Zoom. Haim praised Stump as kind and talented, adding that his enthusiasm for creating the show’s music was clear.

Inside Hallow’s Eve’s Halloween scheme

The special brings Hallow’s Eve, a character from the comic books, together with Jack O’Lantern for a plot to “ruin Halloween forever” by targeting trick-or-treaters with tricks, according to Disney. Their mayhem prompts Spiderman to join forces with Iron Man, Captain America and Hulk in an effort to save the holiday.

Although Haim embraced the character’s villainous side, she does not see Hallow’s Eve as someone intent on causing real harm. Instead, she described the character as precocious and primarily interested in having fun through mischief.

“All tricks, no treats,” Haim said, noting that the phrase has particular resonance for her as a diabetic.

That does not mean she is opposed to Halloween candy. Haim named Sour Punch Bites among her favorites, carefully distinguishing them from Sour Punch Straws and Sour Patch Kids. Peanut M&Ms and Snickers also made her list.

The role fits naturally with Haim’s broader love of Halloween. She and her sisters, Danielle and Alana, usually choose a group costume, although coordinating one may be more complicated this time because Este lives in New York City while her sisters remain based in Los Angeles. At the time of the interview, the trio had not finalized a plan, but Este said she had faith they would work it out.

Her seasonal playlist includes “Season of the Witch” and Norma Tanega’s “You’re Dead,” the theme song for Hulu’s What We Do in the Shadows.

Asked to pick an autumnal song by her friend Taylor Swift, Haim initially chose “August” from Folklore, despite acknowledging that its title does not technically suggest fall. She later followed up by email with “‘Tis the Damn Season” from Evermore. That album also includes “No Body, No Crime,” which features HAIM.

ShowBiz Take

Hallow’s Eve is more than a seasonal cameo for Este Haim. It is her first voice-acting assignment, the realization of a Marvel-villain wish she documented more than 10 years ago and a chance to sing opposite an artist whose work she has long admired.

The enthusiastic response from friends with children also shows how the Disney Jr. and Disney+ special is introducing her to a different audience. At the same time, her musical instincts remain central to the performance: from the Stevie Nicks-inspired preparation to her duet with Stump, Haim’s new role still gives her a song to sing.

What Happens Next?

Haim confirmed that she, Danielle and Alana are “always writing,” despite living farther apart than they once did. The sisters now rely more heavily on voice notes to exchange ideas because they do not see one another as often, though Este said sharing recordings and concepts has long been part of their process.

For now, audiences can watch Marvel’s Spidey and the Avengers: Halloween Team Up on Disney+.